Forbidden Read online

  Turning, I give my mother a mega-watt smile as I open my arms, welcoming her warm hug. When I look at her, it’s as if I’m gazing at my future self, because I’m the spitting image of my mother.

  “Hey, Mom. Oh, it was nothing. Linc and his friends told us a funny joke. It really got us.” Pulling away from her hug, I give her a questionable look. “I just sent you a text. Did you get it? I assumed you were going to be home when I got in from my flight.”

  “I just got your text as we were pulling onto our street, so I didn’t bother texting you back. I’m so glad you made it safely. How was your flight, sweetie?”

  “It was fine. I read the entire flight and listened to music. Before I knew it, we were touching down.”

  “That’s good. I’m sorry I wasn’t here. I got tied up at the office. I am taking the next two weeks off, so as you can imagine, I had a lot to do before I left.”

  My mother never takes time off from work. Like, never. She can be knocking on death's door and will pop a few DayQuil’s and be on her way. So to hear her say she’s taking two weeks off is beyond surprising.

  “You’re taking two weeks off from work?” I can’t mask the shock in my voice, and my mother doesn’t miss the stunned look on my face. She shakes her head, amused as I reach out and press the back of my hand to her forehead. “Are you ill? Did aliens kidnap you and run some weird kind of experiment on you or something?”

  Matt lets out a deep chuckle as he watches me attempt to wrap my head around what I’m hearing. “You were right, Vivian. She does think you’ve lost your mind.” Walking over to my mother, he drapes his arm over her shoulder and beams down at me with an all-teeth smile. “Your mother is flying down to Texas with me to watch my tournament. I had one down there over the weekend. I just flew back in this morning, and now I have another one this coming weekend, and then another in Georgia the following weekend. So we thought we’d make a little trip out of it since we’ve barely seen one another over the last few weeks with all the traveling I’ve had to do. I think it’ll be the perfect romantic getaway with the woman of my dreams.”

  Okay. I just puked a little in my mouth.

  He pulls her tightly into his side and kisses her temple before turning his attention back to me.

  I lean onto my left foot and fold my arms across my chest as I slide my eyes from my mother to Matt. “Umm...so does this romantic getaway include me? Because I know I would’ve much rather spent my spring break laying on the beach in Cabo with all of my friends, instead of going to Texas to watch golf. Not to mention, I don’t want to watch you two make out like teenagers the entire time.”

  My mother narrows her eyes at me, giving me that stern look all children get from their parents when they are silently telling you to stop talking. I don’t care. I got dumped, and then find out that I have to now share my home with the world biggest jackass.

  I cringe inside, thinking about the skanks that’ll be parading through my home, now that he’s a permanent resident here. He’s twenty-three years old. He should be getting his own place by now. Instead, he’s now living in my mother’s house. I can only pray he picked the guest room farthest from mine. I do not want to hear him having sex. Ever.

  “It was a spur of the moment thing, sweetie. I had planned on using this time to spend together, but it made more sense to fly to Texas with Matt and stay there, rather than fly back and forth two weekends in a row. Plus, now you get to catch up with Tessa and your other friends who are home for break.”

  Unbelievable.

  “You can save your breath telling me the big announcement because Linc already blurted it out a few minutes ago. So now he and Matt are living here? Isn’t that kind of quick? You guys have only been dating a few months. Moving in together is a really big step.”

  Matt clears his throat. “I’m going to go outside and see what Linc wants to order for dinner tonight. I’ll let you girls talk.” I have to bite back a laugh as I spot Matt looking at his reflection in the glass doors and running his fingers quickly through his hair before exiting the house.

  As soon as Matt shuts the door, my mother grabs my arm and drags me into the kitchen. “Raven Sophia Brooks! How could you be so rude? Matt is the most amazing and big-hearted man I’ve ever met.” I internally roll my eyes, since she seems to forget all that my father did for her over the years. “He’s offering to bring me on a romantic getaway with him. Who knows? Maybe he’s planning to, you know, pop the question. I can really see myself settling down with him.”

  What…the what?! Popping the question?

  “Mom. Whoa. Slow down. You guys have been together five months. Don’t you think proposals, marriages, and all that crazy permanent stuff is a little too early to be thinking about?” My voice just jumped about five octaves as I try to make her see rationally here. She’s a divorce attorney, for crying out loud! She knows the rate of divorce in this country. To even be excited about the possibility of marrying this guy lets me know she has completely lost her freaking mind.

  She waves her hand in the air, brushing away my concerns. “Honey, when you know, you know. I know Matt is the one. Your father married Alison after only a year together. You’ve said many times they are happy together, and you really like her. I want that same support from you for Matt and me.”

  I let out a soft sigh as I decide to drop the subject. There’s no way I’ll talk sense into her. Her mind is completely made up on the subject. I can only pray that while away, she’ll come to her senses because marrying Matt after only five months is insane. That would mean Linc and I would legally be step-siblings. I can barely stand the asshole now. That’s with the idea of possibly only having to put up with him for a short period of time. The thought of having to deal with him for the rest of our lives…it’s terrifying.

  “So I’m going to spend my only week home alone?” I ask.

  Giving me a warm smile, my mother says cheerfully, “No, silly. You’ll have Linc here to keep you company, and I know Tessa and your other friends will all want to come here and hang out.”

  I run my hands over my face as I try to simmer my boiling blood right now. I lift my eyes back up to my mother, who stands three inches taller than me at five foot seven. “I called off my trip to Cabo because you demanded I come home for family bonding crap. Heath and I broke up because I was coming back home and blew off our spring break trip. Why couldn’t you text me or something so that I could’ve canceled my flight home and gone to Mexico?”

  My stomach is full of knots as thoughts of Heath and me flash through my mind. Right now, I could be lying on the white sandy beach, sipping drinks out of pineapples while tanning beside him and all of our friends. Instead, I’m here, trapped in a house with a guy I can’t stand for an entire week while my mother runs off with her boyfriend for a romantic getaway. I swear, life could not get any worse.

  “I’m so sorry. I had no idea you and Heath broke up. He’s a fool, and you’re better off without him if he broke things off over something so juvenile as you coming home for break. I would’ve messaged you, but I didn’t decide any of this until this afternoon, when Matt showed up at my office, asking me to go with him. If you want, you can fly down. I’ll book you a new plane ticket.”

  My mother runs her hands softly up and down my arms as she waits for me to answer her. I picture myself exiting the plane in Mexico and heading to the hotel we all booked and finding Heath with another girl in his arms, and I know that I can’t go. Not now. It’s too late. The only option is to stay here, hang out with my friends for the next couple of days, and then head back to Long Beach.

  “Thanks for offering, Mom, but I think I’ll just stay here. It’d be too weird seeing Heath down there, with us breaking up and everything.”

  The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Mom and Matt ordered a few pizzas to feed everyone. My original plan was to go out to eat. But now, knowing my mother is leaving tomorrow, I decided to stay and have dinner at home. Tessa and I sat alone at the kitchen island
, eating in peace, while everyone else ate outside, enjoying the warm evening. We ate our first pieces outside with everyone, but Linc wouldn’t stop staring at me and mouthing, “Flash us your panties,” making Tessa and his friend’s chuckle nonstop, causing my mom and Matt to constantly ask what was so funny. So we complained we were getting cold and headed inside to finish eating.

  I’ve only been here a few hours, and already, he’s driving me crazy.

  The rest of the evening, thankfully, was uneventful. Tessa and I went out and had a late night latte with some friends of ours at a local cafe in town and caught up on everything we’ve all been doing since Christmas. I pulled back up to the house at a little after one in the morning. I spotted Linc’s Range Rover parked in the driveway, letting me know he is, in fact, staying here. I was praying that maybe he’d take advantage of his house being empty and stay there.

  It then dawned on me: what if Matt no longer has his condo? He and Linc possibly live here full-time? I’m suddenly grateful for being in Long Beach full-time. I keep telling myself, Only six more days, and you’ll be flying back to college. You can handle this. Just ignore Linc, and don’t allow him to get under your skin.

  Putting my car into park, I turn off the ignition and climb out. It’s a mild evening, with some clouds in the sky and a cool breeze. Even though it’s in the mid-fifties, I feel goose bumps form along my arms and legs as the gentle breeze hits my bare skin. I’m still in my dress and, as the wind kicks up the flowing skirt of it, I speed walk towards the front door. I can’t help but think about this afternoon when I flashed Linc and his friends my panties. I picture their faces as I slide my key into the door and find myself giggling once again as I remember Linc’s face. He shut up quick after that.

  Then, of course, Linc used it as a tool to torment me over dinner.

  But I don’t care, because that moment was freaking priceless.

  I open the door, slip inside, and shut it softly behind me. I relock it, slip my heels off, and bend over, scooping them up in my arms to tiptoe through the foyer into the family room. The second my feet leave the hardwood, and land on the plush carpet, my heart stammers in my chest and I find it hard to breathe.

  Lying on the couch shirtless in nothing but boxer briefs is Linc. He may be an asshole, but anyone with eyes can see the man is fine. His dirty blond hair is still damp, from what I’m guessing was a late night shower, and his perfectly chiseled body is glistening in the light glowing from the television.

  The sound of Linc clearing his throat snaps me out of my drool fest and back to reality. “Getting in late, I see,” he says as he lays there with his hands behind his head, like usual, as he leans against throw pillows and has his feet crossed on the coffee table. I find myself even staring at his feet and getting all tingly inside. Normally, men’s feet gross me out because they are always dirty and nasty, but since Linc is a guy who believes in pedicures, he actually has nice feet. Go figure.

  Shifting my feet back and forth, I hug my heels tighter against my body and force my eyes to stay on his face, not looking at the very large bulge in the front of his briefs. “Yeah, I didn’t realize how late it was. We lost track of time catching up. I’m exhausted,” I say as I cover a slight yawn. “So I’m going to head up to bed.”

  Linc nods at me as a crooked smirk curls up the corner of his lip. “Goodnight, Raven.”

  Swallowing hard, I try to moisten my now parched throat. “Umm, yeah—goodnight.” I wave awkwardly at him for God knows why. Ugh. I’m a complete and total idiot. I see him in his swim shorts all the damn time. I see many, many gorgeous men half-naked all the time. But Linc can short-circuit my damn brain as he lies on the couch all relaxed in nothing but a pair of tight Calvin Klein undies.

  That boy can fill out some Calvin Klein’s rather nicely. Like he should be on billboards kind of nice. Forbidden is definitely the perfect nickname for him. I blame my body getting all hot and bothered around him merely on Heath though. It’s all his fault. I haven’t had sex in almost two weeks, after usually having Heath at my beck and call whenever the desire to have sex arose.

  First thing on my agenda is finding a guy to hook up with. Pronto. My vagina is officially in a state of emergency. Thoughts of turning around and climbing Linc like a fucking tree and riding his dick until I pass out from the multiple orgasms I know he could grace me with fill my head.

  I’ve heard enough talk about him over the years to know he is kind of a legend in the bedroom. Linc’s only downfall is he’s a prick. Why does God bless the assholes with cocks of gold, and then the guys who are actually really super nice and perfect end up with needle dicks?

  It isn’t fair. Someone seriously needs to have a talk with God and have him fix whatever formula he uses for handing out penises to guys.

  The second I enter my room, I lock my bedroom door and drop my shoes beside my luggage I’ve yet to unpack. I drop down to my knees and quickly unzip my suitcase to find a pair of cotton shorts and a cami. I strip out of my dress and change into my pajamas before finally climbing into bed.

  I roll onto my side and pull the comforter up to my chin as I try to fall asleep. Just as I feel sleep claiming me, I hear footsteps walking past my door.

  Please walk to the end of the hall, I chant over and over in my head, begging to any god willing to listen to not have Linc staying in the room beside mine. I do not want to listen to him fucking girls all week while our parents’ are off on their romantic golfing getaway.

  I can’t help but roll my eyes at the thought.

  “Son of a bitch!” I curse under my breath as I hear the door next to my room creak open and then shut, followed by the sound of movement on the other side of my bedroom wall.

  Of course, he picked the room next to mine.

  My bedroom and the guest room next to it have a full view of the pool and backyard while the other bedroom down the hall is on the opposite side and overlooks the driveway.

  My last thought before sleep claims me is, Please, let the next six days go by as fast as humanly possible.

  After tossing and turning most of the night, thanks to images of a certain blue-eyed, cocky as all hell guy haunting my dreams, I finally drag myself out of bed.

  How can I not stand someone, but then dream about fucking his brains out all over every inch of my house?

  I’ve been around Linc more times than I can count, and never once have I found myself fantasizing so much about him. Sure, my friends and I have all joked we’d love one night to have a no holds barred, balls to the wall sexcapade with the sex god of San Francisco, but never once have I actually let the thought linger in my mind.

  I blame it on my newfound singleness for my lapse in judgment. I call temporary insanity. It’s all his fault for lying around my damn house, practically naked, last night. Thanks to the vision on my couch, I was all hot and bothered and barely slept last night. Now I look like crap and need an I.V. drip of coffee to get through the day.

  I make my way downstairs with nothing on my mind but getting coffee. My eyes feel heavy and my body sluggish. As soon as I walk into the kitchen, I suddenly feel nauseous. Before my now scarred eyes are my mother and Matt making out heavily against the kitchen counter. Directly in front of the Keurig.

  “Seriously, get a room ya horn dogs,” I say sarcastically as I continue my way into the large, state of the art kitchen. My mother doesn’t cook but has a kitchen a chef would orgasm over.

  They abruptly break apart as they both get to work smoothing their clothing. They’re both dressed, with their luggage in the entryway to the family room. Two travel mugs sit on the counter beside the Keurig. I didn’t realize they’d be leaving for the airport so early, but at least that means I can text Tessa later and have her get ahold of some of our friends. We’re planning on throwing a party here tonight to celebrate our week free from college before it’s time to dive face first back into our textbooks.

  “Good morning, sweetie. I was about to come up and tell you goodbye. I ass
umed you’d sleep in since you were out with your friends last night.”

  Shuffling my feet over to the cupboard that contains all the glass coffee mugs, I grab a cup and quickly get to work brewing a K-cup. As it brews, I spin around and lean against the counter, facing my mom and Matt.

  “I got in around one this morning. Not too late. Nothing a few cups of coffee and a nice shower won’t rectify.”

  Walking over, my mom wraps me in a hug. “I’ll text you as soon as our plane touches down in Texas. You have fun, and remember to be safe. No strangers in the house; there are way too many crazy people out there nowadays. And remember, if a boy wants to do any hanky-panky, he best be wrapping it up, because I am not going to be a grandmother for at least another ten years. You need to become a world famous marine biologist first.”

  I rub at her back gently as I fight a smile and mouth along with everything she’s saying. She tells me the same spiel every time I fly back to college, or she leaves me home alone. I think her speech is permanently embedded in my brain.

  “Okay, mother. I promise to do everything you just said. Now, you two crazy kids get out of here before you miss your flight. I’ll be fine. The only person you need to be worried about wrapping it up and not letting strangers into the house is Linc. Now, that’s someone who needs the famous Vivian spiel—not me. I’m an angel.” I bat my eyelashes at her playfully as a smile spreads ear-to-ear.

  My mother’s eyes grow large before she giggles nervously and turns to Matt. “What a kid. She’s right. We need to get to the airport. That place is always a nightmare.” Grabbing the handle of her suitcase, she looks back at me, blowing me a kiss. “Bye, sweetie!”

  “See ya later!” I shout as Matt waves goodbye to me, and they disappear down the hallway.

  I get to work adding some cream and sugar to my coffee before heading into the living room to watch the Today Show and enjoy my delicious cup of Joe that my body desperately needs right now. But just as I’m getting comfortable and savoring my caffeine, I hear Linc come down the stairs and enter the kitchen.